ABB CONCISE, America’s leading distributor of contact lenses to eye care professionals, recommends all contact lens wearers discuss with their eye care specialist proper lens care and how to achieve the best results in maintaining contact lenses. The following are some simple best practice rules for contact lens consumers to follow when caring for contact lenses and watching over eye health.
1. Wash hands with warm water and soap before handling your contact lenses or touching your eyes. Residue from lotions, soaps and / or other chemical contaminants may stick to contact lenses, causing pain, irritation and / or blurred vision during wear. Be sure to dry your hands with clean cloth or towel.
2. Always wear contact lenses as prescribed by your eye care specialist. Compliance is critical to avoiding eye infections and / or protein buildup, so if you wear weekly disposables—throw them away in a week. The same goes for monthly. It’s why these lenses are called disposable. If you’re wearing Gas Permeable lenses, ask your eye care specialist about what cleaning solution to use and how to clean your contact lenses.
3. Store contact lenses as prescribed and in fresh solution and a clean case. Use eye care products recommended by your specialist, as some solutions may not be safe for you or your lenses. Clean your contact lens case after each use with either sterile solution or hot tap water and let air dry.
4. Never rinse or clean contact lenses with tap or distilled water—too many minerals and bacteria to cause infection or vision impairment. Don’t clean contact lenses by fogging or ‘rinsing’ them on your tongue.
5. Remove contact lenses if an eye infection develops or if you experience a burning sensation while wearing. Call your eye care specialist immediately.
6. NEVER wear another person's contacts! Infection spreads easily this way and serious eye infection can result.
7. Many contact lens wearers like to keep their eyes lubricated by using a rewetting solution or plain saline solution.
8. Unless your contact lenses have been approved by the FDA for ‘Extended Wear’ don’t sleep in them. Your eyes will become dry and your contact lenses will stick to them, causing discomfort. Should you fall asleep wearing your contacts, be sure to moisten your eyes with eye drops recommended by your eye care specialist before removing your contact lenses.
9. Get an eye exam at least once a year to maintain optimum eye health.
10. Visit your eye care specialist immediately if you have any sudden vision loss, persistent blurred vision, light flashes, eye pain, infection, swelling, unusual redness, or irritation.
11. For first time wearers experiencing discomfort, first check to see if you’ve put your contact lenses in inside-out. To avoid this, place your contact lens on the tip of your finger so that it is forming a cup. Look at the contact lens from the side. If the cup looks like it is flaring out at the top and has a lip, your contact lens is inside out. If it looks like the letter "U", the contact lens is right side out, according to advice found on WebMD.
12. If you think you will have trouble remembering when to order contact lenses, ask your ABB CONCISE Eye Care Specialist (found on yourlens.com) to enroll you in AutoShip, so that contact lenses are delivered to your home or office automatically when you need them. This will help you follow your prescribed compliance which can contribute to better vision and better eye health.
13. Always insert contact lenses before applying any type of facial makeup or cream. This will help avoid cross contamination and adverse interactions with various compounds found in cosmetics. Remove contact lenses prior to removing makeup.
14. Avoid letting the tip of contact lens cleaning solution bottles touch the surfaces of your fingers, eyes or contacts. The solution can become easily contaminated, say experts.
Got more questions regarding contact lens care? Find an Eye Care Specialist at Yourlens.com.